‘I am very proud to be the CEO of the Matrix Academy Trust. It is truly a privilege to work with like-minded, hard-working colleagues who are all focused on delivering the Trust’s vision.

‘Our vision is simple: every child deserves an exceptional education. We make this happen by doing the things which really make a difference. Working smartly means we have staff who want to work here. It ensures we have the capacity to care for every pupil, providing them with the best possible education – without exception.

‘A great school is one people want to work at and one parents want to send their children to. No matter how great our schools might be, we never rest on our laurels. We are restless in our efforts to keep improving and we instil this in our young people.

‘Welcome to Matrix Academy Trust.’

Lynsey Draycott – CEO

Matrix has ensured that some of the lowest performing schools in the country, many with significantly above national proportions of pupils eligible for Free School Meals, have been sustainably transformed in a short space of time. Recognised for our expertise in promoting and realising social mobility, our flagship school operates the Careers Hub for the whole of the Black Country. A large proportion of students who would not have ordinarily considered going to university or applying for Higher Apprenticeships do so at each Matrix school. Students receive superlative personalised guidance to build their employability skills and gain access to the most competitive courses and apprenticeship providers. 

The Matrix School Improvement Team is regularly called upon by other trusts to forensically diagnose their improvement needs and provide follow-up support. We have taken a leading role in developing the Department for Education’s Workload Reduction toolkit, from 2015 to the present day, and have been heavily involved in DfE School Improvement Work. 

Pre-empting future capacity challenges has been integral to the success of Matrix. During the Covid pandemic, we built capacity in anticipation of the increased need for mental health support, modifying existing safeguarding and pastoral structures and appointing mental health leads. This swift action has ensured pupils can access the support they need. We have been proactive in applying for grant-funded places on Senior Mental Health Lead training and using this to further improve mental health provision. We have pioneered a Social Workers In Schools programme, training generations of education-focused social workers so that safeguarding has been enhanced in schools across the West Midlands. 

As part of Covid recovery, leaders have been proactive in modifying curricula and approaches to teaching so that pupils have not been held back by lost learning. More than 5,000 hours of tutoring were delivered under the National Tutoring Programme. 

Priding ourselves on providing exceptional personal development opportunities for both staff and pupils, Matrix schools have a thriving RAF Cadet Force and the Trust has earned the Armed Force’s Employer Recognition Scheme Gold Award for our support to the Armed Forces community. Following successful Turing bids, in the last three years pupils from across Matrix schools have travelled to Spain, Germany, Japan and Italy, with further study visits planned to a range of countries on various continents.

The Trust has its roots in Barr Beacon School in Walsall. Beacon is appropriately named: it radiates its excellence, remaining the template for the schools which has the Trust has subsequently transformed. As the secondary lead for Manor Teaching School Hub, whose remit includes the whole of South Staffordshire, Walsall and Wolverhampton, Barr Beacon is the appropriate body for all of the Hub’s ECTs as well as leading on the delivery of NPQs to a cohort of nearly 500 participants.

Although Barr Beacon School is highly successful today, back in 2007 it was rated Inadequate by Ofsted. The appointment of Dame Maureen Brennan and with a new leadership team it was, in Ofsted’s terms, “stabilised” by the new leaders in under two terms. Only months later, the new leaders ensured the school had its ‘Notice to Improve’ removed. Due to sustained improvement, thousands of children have achieved exceptional outcomes and personal development opportunities which have empowered them to make ambitious life choices.

Seeking to spread the success of Barr Beacon, Matrix Academy Trust was born. The first school we took on was Etone College which had been downgraded to ‘Inadequate’ in 2013 as a result of weak leadership which did not hold staff to account for rapidly declining pupil progress and behaviour. Outcomes were significantly low for Pupil Premium and SEND pupils. When leaders from Matrix arrived, we ensured Etone was rapidly brought out of ‘Special Measures’ and was ‘Good’ only two years later. Pupils now achieve some of the best outcomes in the country.

The all-through (with primary and secondary phases) Bloxwich Academy in Walsall (formerly Mirus Academy and before that Frank F Harrison) was next brought into the Trust. In 2015, it had the unenviable reputation of one of the ten worst performing schools in the country. Outside of the performance tables, it regularly made the headlines because of poor behaviour and serious safeguarding concerns. Prior to Matrix arriving, the school had never been rated anything other than ‘Requires Improvement’ and outcomes were appallingly low. But when Matrix took it on, we ensured the school was quickly stabilised, had its ‘Special Measures’ status removed and, by 2017, the school was named the Most Improved in the Country for pupil progress at Key Stage 4. It is now ‘Good’, with a rapidly expanding intake.

Matrix’s drive for system-wide improvement was already becoming well known across the Midlands. As a result, Dame Elizabeth Cadbury School in Bournville became the first school to request to join the Trust, in order to benefit from belonging to a group of schools with shared values and a proven track record of success.

Dame Maureen Brennan was appointed CEO of the Trust in 2017, the same year that several Matrix schools achieved their best ever examination results. 

Turves Green Boys’ School, which had been placed in ‘Special Measures’ in mid-2019, joined Matrix in April 2021. Less than three years after joining the Trust, in March 2024, it was re-graded as Good by Ofsted, with Outstanding judgements for Leadership and Management and Behaviour and Attitudes. Ofsted said: “This is a school transformed.”

Attendance at Turves has risen very rapidly and has been highlighted by the Department for Education as highly effective practice. Pupil outcomes are projected to continue the positive trend of improvement, year on year. These improvements have been made sustainably, with new talent attracted to work at the school substantively and an effective quality assurance system ensuring quality of education remains high.

Ofsted highlighted how instrumental the Trust had been in supporting the Turves leaders to ensure rapid and sustainable improvement:

“Trustees are robust in their support and challenge. They know the school in detail and fulfil their statutory responsibilities well. Those working for the trust support developments effectively and share the high-quality practice developed at the school more widely.”

During Turves’ transformation, Lynsey Draycott became CEO (September 2022), having been a senior leader at Barr Beacon for more than a decade. As headteacher of that school, she led them to achieve their best ever outcomes in 2022.

Wednesfield Academy and Smestow Academy, both in Wolverhampton, both joined Matrix in January 2023. Smestow Academy was Inadequate due to safeguarding concerns which were swiftly addressed upon Matrix taking over. The other areas identified as needing improvement in the November 2022 Ofsted are being addressed through approaches tried-and-tested in other Matrix schools, customised for the school’s context. This has included significant changes to leadership, behaviour systems, safeguarding, attendance procedures and a complete overhaul of the curriculum. Both Wednesfield and Smestow have transformed rapidly since joining Matrix.